Celebrate Good Times

Aug 12, 2019

By: Ash Sanders

Panguitch, Utah, might be small, but it has enough fun (and beauty, and events, and festivals) for everyone.

For a small town, Panguitch sure has a lot of words for having a good time. Depending on the month, you can rally, ride, walk, race or festival (‘festivate’? ‘festivitize’?). You can even derby. That's because this town — the sort of place where the houses have porches, the lawns are shady and everyone is friendly — knows how to throw a get-together. And with its quaint Main Street, glittering lakes, rugged mountains and miles of trails, there's a lot to celebrate. But Panguitch isn't only for non-stop "festivizer's". The town slogan is "A Change of Pace" — an invitation to rest hard after you play hard, to take some time to smell the roses sagebrush. So what are you waiting for? Hike, bike or ATV on over, then hurry and kick up your heels.

Head for the Hills — Or Hike Right Here

All roads lead to Rome, and all roads out of Panguitch seem to lead to a national park, state park or mountaintop. A quick drive in any direction leads to more natural splendor than you can shake a selfie stick at, from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef, Zion, Canyonlands and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. But that's not all. In the deep-time geography lottery, Panguitch scored the jackpot, and that includes some state parks with mind-bending sights like what you find at Kodachrome Basin and Escalante’s Petrified Forest. Or you can stay closer to home and explore some of Panguitch's own attractions, like nearby Panguitch Lake (Shh! Listen close and you can practically hear the fish jumping) or Red Canyon — a mashup of red rock and ponderosa pine practically begging you to hike, bike or horseback ride it.

Danguitch Festival Will You Choose!?

Some towns are small and sleepy. Panguitch is small and just had a triple espresso. Hardly a month passes by in this town without some sort of community celebration. Thanks to the resident party planners, stoppers-by can take their pick from a long list of options. Have a hankering for some old-timey tunes? Stop by the Fiddler's Fest in July and stomp your boots, then sample some of the town's finest fare at Taste of Panguitch. Rather be fishing? Sign up for January's fish derby, where you can hone your craft of sitting very still in the cold for long periods of time. Fancy yourself a history buff? Get the whole story behind the town's founding at the Quilt Walk Festival, where you'll learn, patchwork-style, about the brave men who crossed the mountains to bring food to starving Panguitch residents in the middle of a desperate winter. (What's that got to do with quilts, you ask? The men used them to support their weight in the deep snow.) Full of hot air? Feel better by taking a hot air balloon ride at the town's June Balloon Festival. You'll seem downright cool-headed in comparison.

Main Street Staycation:

In Panguitch, you don't have to go far to find the good stuff. After a day of fun, head to the center of it all and unwind. Rummage around our antique stores, catch a movie (with popcorn AND ice cream) at the historic Gem Theater, or take a stroll and admire our historic red brick buildings.